Chapter 94 It itches! This man just knows how to tease her!

"Xiao Zhang, what did that person look like? Did he say what he wanted to see me about?" She asked cautiously as she followed Xiao Zhang quickly toward the military district gate.

Xiao Zhang's cheeks were flushed, and puffs of white breath escaped his lips. He scratched the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Sister-in-law, I just went to the mailroom to get a letter. The sentry on duty at the gate told me to come find you, so I didn't see you very clearly. I just heard that you were an elderly woman, wearing a drab gray cotton-padded coat and a blue headscarf, and her accent... it didn't sound like someone from the North."

But when she and Xiao Zhang arrived at the military district gate, all she saw was an empty, snow-covered field. Beside the tall and imposing gate, there were only two sentries in military overcoats, standing straight like two pine trees undaunted by the cold.

"Where is he?" Jiang Wanqiu looked back and forth near the military region gate.

The sentry on guard recognized Xiao Zhang. Seeing him leading an incredibly beautiful woman over, he immediately saluted and replied, "Reporting to you, sister-in-law, that old lady just left."

"She's gone?" Jiang Wanqiu asked. "Didn't she say what she wanted to see me about?"

The sentry shook his head: "She didn't say. She just stood there, looking inside constantly, asked if you lived in this compound, and after confirming, she muttered a few words to herself, then turned and left."

The sentry raised his hand and pointed to the bare birch forest not far outside the military area.

Jiang Wanqiu looked in the direction he pointed and saw only desolation. The north wind swirled the snowflakes on the ground, making the branches whistle and howl like ghosts.

Who could this be, all of a sudden and without any context?

Xiao Zhang, who was standing nearby, also found it strange and asked the sentry in a puzzled tone, "Could you have misheard the name?"

The two people who had been loitering around the entrance of the military area went back inside.

In the distance, a woman in the birch forest pointed at a lean man beside her and said, "That's her, no doubt about it. Look at her, so fair-skinned and delicate, she looks like she could be squeezed for water. This kind of woman is the most valuable. This time, we must make those heartless people bleed themselves dry."

The lean man's eyes flickered. He rubbed his hands, which were purple from the cold, and hesitated, saying, "Sister, but her husband is the battalion commander here. If he targets a military family member and gets into trouble, it's a business that could cost him his head. The risk is too great."

"Look at your pathetic self!" the old woman spat dismissively. "What are you afraid of? She's from the South, a complete stranger in this place, without a single relative. Once we get her, we'll head back south. The emperor's reach is so high, who can find us there? After we pull off this job, we'll be set for life!"

A flicker of struggle crossed the man's face, but he was ultimately swayed by the words "You won't have to worry about the rest of your life," and nodded emphatically: "Yes, what you said makes sense!"

...

Jiang Wanqiu returned home with a belly full of doubts. As soon as she opened the door, Zhao Wenchang was carrying a basin of hot water out of the kitchen. When he saw her, a smile immediately appeared on his well-defined face.

"You're back? Quickly, it's freezing outside, soak your feet to warm them up."

Jiang Wanqiu was wary of the man who was suddenly being so attentive: "Why are you suddenly pouring me water to wash my feet? What are you trying to do?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenchang deliberately put on an exaggerated and hurt expression: "These past few nights, you've always secretly put your feet on my stomach to warm them up in the middle of the night. Your feet are like ice cubes, do you think I don't know? I specially prepared hot water for you because I felt sorry for you. Soaking them for a while before bed will keep your feet warm at night."

Jiang Wanqiu's little tricks that evening were mercilessly exposed by the man, and she coughed awkwardly, "Well, thank you for going to so much trouble for me."

"Not at all, it's my duty." Zhao Wenchang looked at the woman's slightly flushed face and his thin lips curved slightly.

Jiang Wanqiu took off her shoes and socks and put her feet, which were a little stiff from the cold, into the wooden basin. The warm water instantly enveloped her ankles, and a warm current rushed from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, making her breathe a long sigh of relief.

Zhao Wenchang squatted down in front of her, adding hot water as he spoke, "In a few days, when the snow falls even heavier and compacts the ground, and the river is frozen solid, our military region will organize a winter fishing operation. Hundreds of people will be casting their nets together; it'll be quite a spectacle. Would you like to come and see it?"

"Winter fishing?" Jiang Wanqiu's eyes lit up immediately. She had only seen it in books: a large hole was chiseled in the ice several feet thick, and thousands of lively fish were pulled out of the water—what a magnificent sight that must have been.

"I want to go! Of course I want to go!" She nodded vigorously, her bright almond-shaped eyes full of anticipation.

Looking at her innocent and carefree appearance, Zhao Wenchang softened his gaze as well.

When she had soaked for a while, he reached out and picked up her small, pink foot, which had become pink from the hot water. He held it in his rough hand, picked up a dry cloth, and carefully wiped it.

As he was wiping, his fingers became restless and deliberately tickled the sole of her foot.

"Ouch!" Jiang Wanqiu was extremely ticklish, and she flinched as if she had been electrocuted, pulling her toes back while letting out a string of silvery laughter. "Stop it...it tickles...Zhao Wenchang, let go!"

The man didn't let go; instead, he tightened his grip. He watched her laugh uncontrollably, her fair cheeks flushed, and tears welling in her eyes, making her even more alluring. He chuckled softly and leaned closer, saying, "Beg me, beg me and I'll let you go."

"I beg you... I beg you, please..." she pleaded with a laugh, her body so weak she almost slid off the chair.

"Do you still dare to secretly use your feet to freeze me at night?"

"No, no, I won't! Oh, please let me go!"

She knew it; this man was being unusually attentive, he was definitely up to no good!

Seeing that the woman was getting really embarrassed by his teasing, her almond-shaped eyes wide open as she glared at him angrily, Zhao Wenchang decided to stop while he was ahead. He chuckled, quickly dried her other foot, then picked up the basin of foot-washing water and said, "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. I'll go pour the water out."

He carried the basin of water out of his house and happened to run into He Xiaoman, who was on her way to the water room.

When He Xiaoman saw the foot basin Zhao Wenchang was carrying, and then looked out the window at Jiang Wanqiu sitting in the chair with rosy cheeks, she sneered disdainfully and said sarcastically, "Oh, Battalion Commander Zhao really dotes on his wife, even pouring her foot bath water himself. We rough, big-handed northern women don't have this kind of luck, we can't compare to the pampered young lady from the south."

Hearing the barbed tone in those words, Zhao Wenchang looked at He Xiaoman, a cold smile playing on his lips: "We men from Northeast China, serving our wives is a matter of course, isn't it? What, Sister-in-law He, has your husband, Lao Zhou, never served you?"

One sentence from him completely stumped He Xiaoman.

Her man? He wouldn't even pour her a foot bath, let alone come home and say a warm word to her!

He Xiaoman went home with a belly full of anger, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

While washing up, she imitated Jiang Wanqiu and placed the foot basin in front of her husband, Battalion Commander Zhou: "Go, pour out the water for me."

Battalion Commander Zhou was reading the newspaper when he heard this. Without even looking up, he frowned impatiently and said, "What's wrong with you now? Don't you have hands?"

"Battalion Commander Zhao poured water for his wife!" He Xiaoman raised her voice. "What's wrong with me asking you to pour me some water?"

“Other people’s wives are other people’s wives. If you’re so envious, why don’t you marry Battalion Commander Zhao?” The man slammed the newspaper on the table and glared at her, scolding, “He Xiaoman, let me tell you, once you’re in the military compound, you’d better put away that spoiled young lady attitude! Can’t you have some awareness of what it means to be a military family member? Stop comparing yourself to others with these useless things, it’s embarrassing!”

"I'm a disgrace? Zhou Jianguo, explain yourself! How am I a disgrace!"

"you……"

Soon, a fierce argument and the ear-piercing sound of things being smashed came from next door, which sounded particularly clear in the quiet winter night.

With a loud crash, like an enamel basin being slammed to the ground, the noise was so loud it startled Jiang Wanqiu.

"Oh dear, this young couple is getting into a fight."

Li Yanhong, who came over for a visit, was clearly used to the commotion next door and even winked at Jiang Wanqiu.

"Sister-in-law, don't be afraid. Newlyweds are all like this. Every pot and pan has its bumps and knocks. Just adjust over time, and it'll be fine in a year or two." Li Yanhong spoke with the air of someone who'd been through it all. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she asked Jiang Wanqiu, "Speaking of which, have you and Battalion Commander Zhao ever argued?"

Jiang Wanqiu thought for a moment, a look of confusion appearing on her beautiful face, and gently shook her head: "No."

Let alone arguing, Zhao Wenchang rarely even raises his voice.

He either silently went about his business, or, like before, teased her with an undeniable forcefulness, but his eyes always held a smile.

Upon hearing this, Li Yanhong clicked her tongue and looked at her seriously: "Sister-in-law, let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart. It's good for couples to bicker occasionally. The more respectful and polite they are to each other, the more harmonious they seem, but there's actually a layer of distance between them. Once it all piles up and causes a big problem, it'll be hard to clean up."

Jiang Wanqiu listened and it seemed to make some sense.

But then she thought again and realized that this might not work in her own home.

Zhao Wenchang was an incredibly stable man, as steady as a mountain. She had never seen him truly angry; he was remarkably composed. She even doubted whether he could ever get angry.

As for myself, I'm someone who's lived most of my life, and I'm long past the age of acting impulsively. It's hard for me to act like a real young girl and get angry over trivial matters.

If these two were to actually start arguing... they probably wouldn't even be able to.

The arguing next door gradually subsided, replaced by He Xiaoman's suppressed sobs.